Snow Angel
by invisiblecows
Summary: "It didn't matter how much she feared it – how much her mind screamed for her to give up the child. Her heart decreed otherwise. And if there was one thing she'd learned from her years locked up in that room, it was that nothing was stronger than the love of a frozen heart." Mommy!Elsa, parents!Kristanna, sisterly Elsanna fluff
1. The Love of a Frozen Heart

**Disclaimer: I don't own **_**Frozen**_** or Disney. Dibs on the plot and new characters, though.**

_Author's Note: Hi, people. Been at the writing thing for awhile, but it's my first time trying my hand at _Frozen_ fanfiction. I felt like there was (is?) a serious lack of Mommy!Elsa stories out there (because, come on, she'd be an _amazing_ mom), so, naturally, my imagination decided to have a freaking heyday and this is what happened. Basically it's a series of vignettes about Elsa and how much she loves her family. Because, for a girl with ice powers, she sure has the warmest heart I've ever witnessed. Anyway, hope you enjoy._

**Prologue:**

**The Love of a Frozen Heart**

"How could this _happen_?"

"Elsa, please calm down; just take a deep-" Anna tried.

"It's a _disaster_, Anna!" Elsa retorted edgily, whipping around to face her sister.

"Look, I know you're scared, but-" Anna started.

"I'm not scared – I'm _horrified_!" Elsa gasped. She averted her eyes to the floor and turned away, pulling her hands against her chest. "What if I hurt-? Or worse, if I freeze-? No, no I can't think about… I-I just don't understand. The Troll King said it would just allow me to have more control over my magic – just a little so I could get through this grand ball without having to worry about freezing a dignitary mid-_waltz_. And now I have this _thing_! I haven't even…_ been _with anyone, Anna! It was just a stupid spell! How did something like this _happen_?"

"I don't know – you heard it when Grand Pabbie said magic works in mysterious ways. I'm sure he didn't know this was going to happen. And Elsa, be… be careful…" Anna murmured somewhat guiltily.

Elsa looked up at herself in the mirror, terror crossing her face as she quickly tore her hands away from her body.

"_See_!" she exclaimed, looking at Anna hopelessly. "Even _you_ think I could hurt it!"

"No – no," Anna shook her head, extending her hands in surrender and walking closer. "Not the Elsa I know. I just think you're really worked up right now and you need to calm down." She took Elsa's hands in hers, forcing back a shiver at how cold her sister's skin felt against hers. "But you would never hurt anyone, Elsa." Anna said imploringly. "Especially not your own child."

Elsa's nose twitched as she fought back her tears with every ounce of willpower she had. The ambient temperature of the room dropped sharply and small flurries of snow drifted from the icy rafters.

"This wasn't supposed to happen to me, Anna," she breathed, her voice breaking. "Not now – not ever." She tore her hands from Anna's and turned away, digging her gloved fingers into her palms to keep from hugging her arms to her body. "I can't be a mother," she said defeatedly. "I'm the _Snow Queen_, Anna. I don't get a happy ending."

Anna set her jaw, lips quivering and cheeks reddening in the frozen wind that was swirling through the room. A lump rose in her throat as her heart clenched. The fact that her sister could even say something like that – let alone _believe _it – made her heart shatter.

"You know… after Mama and Papa died I'd sleep outside your room at night," Anna said, her voice sad and soft. "Kai and Gerda would always pick me up and take me back to my room, but I always fell asleep right here." She reached out her hand behind her and touched the door. "Because even though we were separated – even though you were trying so hard to protect me and stay away from me – it was the _only_ place in the _world_ I felt like my whole universe wasn't going to fall completely apart."

A tear ran down Anna's cheek, its trail freezing over in the cold.

"And you know why Elsa?" she breathed, shaking. "Because I needed to be close to you. Because I knew, I just _knew_ you were on the other side of that door – right there with me. Because the only place in the whole world I felt safe, was by _you_." She sniffled. "You've _always_ made me feel like that, Elsa! Ever since we were little! Like when I got the chicken pox and Mama and Papa told you to stay out of my room, but I missed you so much I started crying, and you snuck in to the room in the middle of the night and ended up getting them too. Or when I fell off that tree you told me not to climb and broke my arm, so you made me a cast out of ice until we could get back to Mama and Papa. Or-or the time when-

"Anna, _please_," Elsa half-begged, hanging her head and pulling her arms to her body.

Anna hesitated a moment.

"Elsa…" she said softly, "for God sakes, you've taken care of me my whole life – protected me my whole entire life, and you think you…" Anna swallowed thickly, "you _really _believe you can't be a mother?" She hesitated a moment. "If you don't _want_ to, then fine. But thinking you _can't_? Thinking you don't _deserve _it? Elsa… you're wrong. I'm sorry, but you are."

Elsa remained silent, keeping her gaze fixed on the iced-over windowpane. Only the whistling wind met Anna's words. Finally relenting to her sister's wishes, Anna defeatedly pushed open the door to the bedroom and started out. She paused, looking back over her shoulder.

"And you _will_ have a happy ending, Elsa." Anna tuned back to the hallway. "You're the best person I know. And good people get happy endings. So you will, too. I promise." She let the door start to shut behind her. "I promise," she murmured as the door closed.

A tear rolled down Elsa's cheek as she lowered her gaze to her stomach. Yes, things were different than they were a few months ago. Things were better. _A lot_ better. She didn't have to hide her powers anymore and she could finally be a real sister to Anna again. But… _a baby_? She couldn't… it wouldn't… even if she _wanted_ to- **no**. _No_. She'd have to give it up, or-or maybe Anna would raise it? Anna and Kristoff were already expecting a child of their own. Maybe they'd… just so she wouldn't have to let go completely…? Or maybe she could just... _keep_ it? **No**. NO. She still didn't have proper control over her powers, and God knows what could happen to the child.

And, if she were being perfectly honest, half of the time she still wasn't even _ok_ with having powers in the first place. She was _more_ ok with herself, yeah. But she wasn't _that_ ok with herself yet. It wasn't a simple thing, _alright_? She spent _years_ of her life blaming herself for these powers. It wasn't easy to just let all of that go.

It was a love/hate kind of thing, she supposed. She loved her powers, but they made her alone and an outcast. And how would you even begin to explain ice powers to a baby, or-or-

_Or what if the child had the same_-?

"It's just not that simple, Anna," Elsa mumbled heartbrokenly into the cold, trying to silence her own thoughts.

She wished it were. She wished that more than anything else. Because, _God_, she wanted to be a mother more than anything in the universe. But she was The Snow Queen. She couldn't have a _child_. What if she hurt it or froze it or pulled away from it like she did with Anna?

She was _The Snow Queen_.

_The one with the frozen heart_.

How could any child ever want _that_ as a mother?

"Let it go," Elsa commanded into the empty room, the frozen wind swirling wildly around her. "…It's… it's… impossible… Just _let it go_."

But deep in the heart she thought so icy and cold, Elsa knew her choice had already been made. It didn't matter how much she feared it – how much her mind screamed for her to give up the child. Her heart decreed otherwise. And if there was one thing she'd learned from her years locked up in that room, it was that nothing was stronger than the love of a frozen heart.

_Author's Note: Thanks for reading! The chapters will be longer, though. And cuter. And not sad. __**But it kind of needed a prologue because things needed explaining. Like magical, accidental offspring.**__ Because that just doesn't happen every day. So… yeah. =D_

**Ch. 2 AN: "Oh, and – the kid was the result of a magical mishap, in case that was unclear to anyone. Elsa's a single mom. No dude. (Or chick, for that matter, actually.) Just a magic spell with… unexpected results. (The spell will be explained in due time.)"**


	2. Love Will Thaw

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Frozen or Disney.**

_Author's Note: Hi, again. Just me here. Hope you liked the Prologue. Here's the first chapter. Timeframe will skip around like it does in most of my stories (_Frozen_ and otherwise). Just go with the flow, if you'd be so kind. __**Oh, and – the kid was the result of a magical mishap, in case that was unclear to anyone. Elsa's a single mom. No dude. (Or chick, for that matter, actually.) Just a magic spell with… unexpected results. (The spell will be explained in due time.)**__ Now, it might not stay that way _forever_, but I kind of just like her being herself for the present. Anyway, thanks for reading! Enjoy!_

**Love Will Thaw**

Elsa knotted her fingers in the bed sheets, her heart physically aching as she listened to the baby's wails. She didn't think it would hurt this much – the crying, the separation. Childbirth paled in comparison, she mused mirthlessly. She didn't know _what_ she'd feel, but it sure as snow wasn't _this_.

Anna had the infant with her in the other room. Elsa couldn't bring herself to hold the child yet. Hell, she was terrified to be in the _same room_ – horrified at the thought of even putting one finger against the child's cheek. Cold sweat dripped into her eyes as the scene from long ago played again and again in her mind – Anna, unconscious and frozen in her arms… all because of her.

But, _oh God_, the fear in the baby's cries. It made a fresh wave of tears well up in Elsa's eyes. She sounded so scared. So incredibly alone.

_She_.

Freya.

Her favorite name from the ancient mythology books that were her only friends in her youth.

_Freya_.

A name befitting a princess. The new Princess of Arendelle.

_Her_ princess.

Elsa silently mouthed the name, a tear rolling down her cheek. She was perfect, her baby girl. She was born healthy, and strong, and just as stubborn as her mother – trying to fight her way out of the soft purple blanket with which the midwives were trying to swaddle her. The thought made Elsa's heart skip a beat as a small smile played at her lips. But it disappeared as quickly as it came.

_God_, Elsa wanted to hold her. She _needed_ to hold _her baby_ – the comfort her, to calm her. To make her feel safe, and loved, and-

But she just _couldn't_.

She couldn't take that risk. That little pink, splotchy tiny person who was less than an hour old – Elsa already loved her more than she herself could comprehend. She didn't know she would, but it just _happened _and she couldn't chance it. Elsa _couldn't_ lose her.

Sighing, she drew her hands against her body and curled further into a ball. A tear ran down her face, dripping from the bridge of her nose and icing over in mid-air before hitting the sheet below.

The sound of a door opening and closing drew her out of her reverie. Elsa's heart simultaneously swelled and shattered. She propped herself up higher on the bed, swallowing thickly as Freya's frightened cries grew closer. Anna had promised to give her some time – she knew more than anyone why Elsa was so afraid. But Elsa knew that Anna wouldn't let her be alone for long, and that Anna would push her enough to get her though it. Honestly, part of her was counting on it.

Anna's usual knock echoed through the empty room, quickly followed by creaking hinges as she pushed open the door.

"Elsa?"

Elsa's heart plummeted at the sight of the little purple bundle nestled in Anna's arms. Freya's face was flushed bright red and her cheeks glistened with tears.

"A-Anna… no, the-the room's frozen solid," Elsa panicked, her eyes darting between the iced-over wooden moldings in the room and Anna's frozen breath as she exhaled. "She'll-she'll… she-"

"_Needs her mother_."

Anna walked further into the room.

"She _needs_ you, Elsa."

Elsa swallowed hard, her breathing growing shallow as she looked at her daughter.

"But what if I-?" she murmured fearfully, tears welling up in her eyes and her chest tightening. "I can't hurt her, Anna. I… I-I can't."

"You _won't_," Anna soothed as she walked up to the bed and leaned over a bit so that Elsa could see Freya. "I promise you won't."

Elsa's breath caught in her chest as she looked at her daughter. Panic surged through every inch of her body.

"Oh, my God. Anna, she's-she's shivering up a storm!" she exclaimed, her voice breaking. "Please just get her out of here! Keep her _away _from me!"

"No, _Elsa_," Anna said seriously. "Elsa, don't do this. Don't-"

"She's going to freeze to death, Anna!" Elsa cried, pulling away as Anna leaned closer.

Anna hesitated only a moment before bending further towards her sister and gently pulling Freya away from her chest.

"I'm sorry about this," she murmured. "But it's for your own good."

Suddenly she sat down on the edge of the bed and carefully thrust Freya into Elsa's arms. Anna pulled away before Elsa had time to do anything but catch the newborn in her arms.

"_ANN-oohh_!" Elsa grunted, gasping as snow flurries shot out in every which direction.

Ice swirled and danced up the walls of Elsa's room, spreading from an intricate snowflake that spanned the length of the wooden floor. Snow floated down from the rafters, disappearing before it hit the ground. The setting winter sun filtered in through the windows, reflecting and refracting off the surface of the ice. Patterns of light illuminated the room in a beautiful array of colors. In all her years with powers, Elsa had never seen anything like this. Almost instinctively, she held Freya tighter to her chest, and, much to her surprise the newborn's cries began to quiet.

"…Elsa…?" Anna blinked.

"…I'm not… I'm not doing-_ugh_. _Ooh_," Elsa gasped again as warmth started to spread through her body, radiating out from where Freya was tucked safely in her arms. "What's-what's happening to me?"

"What's going on?" Anna asked, biting her lip as she looked at her niece worriedly.

"There's… I'm-I'm _warm_," Elsa blinked, her jaw dropping slightly.

Anna reached out and touched Elsa's arm, only to immediately jerk her hand back.

"_Elsa_!" she exclaimed. "You're _freezing_! Even more than normal – oh, my gosh."

"But how-?" Elsa gaped down at the newborn in her arms.

Her breath caught in her chest as her gaze settled on Freya. It was the first time she'd had a chance to really _look_ at her – the little baby girl she'd brought into the world. And good _God_, was she a sight to behold. Her fluffy platinum-blonde hair stuck out in adorable little spikes from under her blanket, and her cheeks were flushed a rosy pink. A love-struck, goofy smile spread across Elsa's face as Freya's tiny hands grasped at the soft purple blanket. Her heart felt lighter than it had in _years_.

"Elsa, maybe I _should _hold_-_" Anna said hesitantly.

"No, no – Anna," Elsa shook her head. She looked up at her sister for only a moment, a gentle smile on her lips, before she glanced back down at her daughter. "She's not shivering anymore. _Love will thaw_, remember?"

Freya yawned, nose scrunching and hands balling into fists as she stretched her little arms.

"That was quite a yawn there, my snow angel," Elsa chuckled.

And in an instant, two pairs of ice-blue eyes met for the first time.

"Ooh," Elsa beamed. "Hi."

Freya squirmed, head turning in shaky, labored movements as she blinked.

"It's ok, Freya," Elsa soothed, bringing her hand up to caress Freya's cheek. "It's alright."

She hesitated only a moment before finally bringing skin to skin. Freya turned her head, pressing her nose against her mother's palm.

"That's the first time she's opened her eyes," Anna said softly. She gave her sister a sweet smile. "I think she knows your voice, Elsa."

"Do you?" Elsa cooed, tears welling up in her eyes as she watched Freya lean into her touch. "Do you recognize my voice, snow angel?"

Freya's eyes snapped up to hers again, the infant almost desperately trying to keep some sort of visual contact as she seemingly searched her fuzzy field of view.

"Is that it?" Elsa murmured, leaning closer. "_Snow angel_?"

A squeak and a gasp escaped Freya's lips as Elsa brought her almost nose-to-nose.

"Hello to you, too," Elsa chuckled as a tear ran over her cheek.

Freya blinked, brow furrowing with how hard she was trying to focus on Elsa's face. She let out a soft whimper as she closed her eyes, the effort becoming too much.

"Oh, hey," Elsa whispered, pulling Freya higher on her chest so the infant's ear was against her chest, just over her heart. "I'm here, snow angel. I'm… _Mama_'s here."

Anna beamed at her sister from where she stood beside the bed.

"I'm proud of you, Els," she murmured.

**frozenfrozenfrozen**

Elsa took a deep breath, surveying herself in the full-length mirror as she straightened the crinkles in her ice gown. A smile cracked her usual queenly demeanor when her gaze settled on Freya's cradle in the reflection. It was traditional to have a separate nursery – just as her parents had done before her with both she and Anna – but Elsa refused. After holding Freya for the first time, there was absolutely no separating her from her daughter. Freya was _hers_ and hers alone. Not that Elsa didn't trust the staff – after all Kai and Gerda had been the ones to care for she and Anna when they were young. But this was her regime now, and things were going to change; starting with how she raised the future Princess of Arendelle.

"It's almost time, snow angel," she announced softly to the sleeping two-day old infant.

Even from a distance, Elsa could see how large the crowd was growing outside the castle as she walked over to the cradle. The courtyard was already full to the brim, and people were spilling out all down the pathways to the village beyond. News had spread wide and far about the birth of the heir to the throne, but no one was yet aware of the gender of the child, which only added to the fervor.

"Goodness," she remarked aloud. "That's quiet a few people, isn't it?"

Her stomach flipped and her smile faltered for a moment. The role of being Queen of Arendelle grew more _familiar_ with time, but not necessarily _easier_. And today wasn't going to make it any better, really.

It was the day of the official announcement of Her Royal Highness, Crown Princess Freya, of Arendelle. The title made Elsa cringe ever so slightly. After growing up with nothing but massive weights on her shoulders of both having to control her powers and learn how to rule a kingdom, that was the last thing she wanted her daughter to feel. But Elsa was the Queen of Arendelle, so naturally her daughter had no escaping that reality. She had no idea yet if Freya had powers (though she most _definitely_ suspected – an idea she was actually warming up to, as it were), but Elsa was determined to try and at least keep the weight of being princess from being too heavy of a burden.

An knock on the door brought Elsa out of her reverie.

"Your Majesty?" Kai's voice echoed through the room. "I'm sorry to disturb you, but it's time."

"I'll be right there," Elsa called over her shoulder. She leaned over and gently took Freya into her arms. A smirk played at her lips. "It's time to go, Princess Sleepyhead."

Still fast asleep, Freya almost instinctively nestled further into her mother's arms, cheek pressed against Elsa's chest right over her heart.

As soon as she turned around, the door to Elsa's room flew open to reveal Anna and Kristoff, each holding one of their own newborns – a girl, Cara, and a boy, Kelvin. Twins. Just the thought of a mini-Kristoff and mini-Anna running around the castle made Elsa think to hire more maintenance staff, but it was truly great for Freya to have cousins her age to play with.

"You ready to do this?" Anna asked, her usual bright smile so infectious that Elsa couldn't help but mirror her.

"I don't think we have a choice, Anna," Elsa smirked.

"Oh, come on, Els – it'll be fun," Anna beamed.

"Fun," Elsa mumbled anxiously, tugging Freya's blanket tighter around her daughter as she headed out after Anna. "Right."

Anna and Kristoff weren't technically _required_ to announce their children's births to the kingdom in some gigantic ceremony, but Anna immediately volunteered when she saw the look of dread on Elsa's face when the subject was raised by the advisors that visited following Freya's birth. Elsa always knew she was going to have to do it eventually, but it had been _two_ days since she'd given birth. It still hurt to _walk_, let alone get in a gown and stand in front of thousands of people. But it was apparently a law that the reigning monarch had to announce the birth of the heir to the Throne of Arendelle as quickly as possible. (Clearly something that was devised while the kingdom was _not_ under the reign of a queen…) Elsa made a silent promise to herself to strike down that antiquated law as soon as she returned to active duty.

Before Elsa knew it, they had arrived at the doors to the large balcony overlooking the courtyard below. She took a deep breath, smiling at Kai and Gerda, who stood in front of the doors. Sir Henrik Edler, the family's most trusted advisor since Elsa and Anna's father's reign, greeted them with a warm smile.

"Princess Anna and Sir Kristoff will first present Princess Cara and Prince Kelvin," he said proudly, grinning at the girls who he had come to think of a bit as his own after their father passed away. "And then you, Your Majesty, will close out the ceremony with the presentation of Arendelle's heir apparent. Is that agreeable?"

"It is," Elsa nodded deferentially.

"Wonderful," Sir Edler beamed. "Shall we begin?"

The roar of the crowd was almost deafening when the doors opened. Elsa immediately pulled Freya closer and tugged the blanket up over her daughter's ears to try and block out the noise. Even as her stomach flipped at the thought of having to walk in front of the crowd, Elsa couldn't help the faint trace of a smirk that played at her lips. Freya was still fast asleep in her arms while Cara and Kelvin were both of the verge of a meltdown as a result of the sudden onslaught of stimuli.

"How is she so calm?" Anna whispered to her sister, wincing to dodge a fist to the jaw courtesy of Cara.

Elsa gave Anna her traditional smirk.

"She's good at keeping her cool."

Anna playfully narrowed her eyes at her sister as Elsa winked at her.

"You did _not_ just make an ice-powers pun," Anna accused teasingly.

Elsa chuckled, grinning at her sister. Sir Edler began to usher Anna to the door, but she pulled back for a moment to give Elsa a gentle nudge.

"She's good for you, ya know," she remarked proudly.

Elsa smiled down at her daughter and nodded.

"I know."

_Author's Note: Sorry it took so long, guys! Hope you liked it!_

**Ok, so, I know most people don't read author's notes, but guys, every review I'm getting is stuff that's stated outright at various places throughout this story. The spell will be explained. I promise. It was a spell to gain more control over her powers. There is no dude. It was an unexpected result, but one that does eventually fulfill the original intention of said spell. Just give the thing time, guys.**


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